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As the halfway point of their 2012 season approaches, the Steelers (4-3) aren’t ready to argue that this defense belongs in the class of those statistically dominant units. For good reason, too.

Troy Polamalu has been seen only briefly since the season opener. James Harrison still isn’t James Harrison. The sacks (only 12 so far) and the turnovers (only one per game) aren’t piling up. The memories of the failed fourth quarters in Oakland and Tennessee and Denver remain vivid.

“We’re not patting ourselves on the back,” defensive end Brett Keisel said.

But glance at the NFL statistics, and the Steelers are in familiar territory. For all of their deficiencies, for all that has gone wrong while dropping three of four on the road, they are the league’s No. 2 defense.

“Dick LeBeau’s resume speaks for itself,” cornerback Ike Taylor said, referring to the defensive coordinator who always seems to find a way to make his defense work.

In their past two games — wins over the Bengals and Redskins — the Steelers gave up a total of 440 yards (about 600 fewer than the Saints). It’s a very Steelers-like number, even if it occurred during an uncharacteristic season; this will be the first time under coach Mike Tomlin they will hit midseason without being 6-2.

“We’re going out now and playing disciplined and playing the way we know how to play,” outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley said after the Steelers shut down Washington wunderkind Robert Griffin III. “We went out and played our game. We weren’t worried about who was playing at quarterback.”

What’s missing — besides Polamalu, of course — are the game-changing big plays, the make-you-shudder hits that can change the course of a game. That’s why Harrison said it’s much too soon to use the word “dominant” to describe this defense.

“I feel like we’re headed in the right direction, but we’re still not where we want to be,” he said.

Despite limiting Griffin to 8 yards rushing and a 47 percent pass completion percentage (he came in averaging 70.4 percent), the Steelers benefitted from seven dropped passes. Cornerback Keenan Lewis, playing his best game of the season, knocked away two passes in the end zone that could have gone for touchdowns.

Harrison and linebacker Lawrence Timmons both appeared to be susceptible to play-action fakes, something Giants quarterback Eli Manning might look to exploit Sunday.

“For the most part we played our defense and executed reasonably well, but there are still things that can be corrected,” Harrison said. “We’re not perfect by any means. There were plays we could have done better on.”

The Giants (6-2), winners of five in a row, and Manning should provide a better indicator of where this Steelers defense is.

New York won its past two games despite allowing 914 yards to the Redskins and Cowboys, in part because Manning bailed them out in the fourth quarter both times.

Now the Steelers can only guess what beating the Super Bowl champions in their stadium would mean to their season. They trailed the Ravens (5-2) by 21⁄2 games in the AFC North only 10 days ago, but they’ve cut that to a single game.

“I don’t see this as a chance to make a huge statement,” Harrison said. “I see this is an opportunity to go out there and show what we can do. We’re going to go out there and try to play a better game than we did this week, and hopefully that will be good enough.”

Keep in mind that offense is (by design) way up all around the NFL. It is virtually impossible to dominate on D as we have in the past. When you factor this in, our decline is not as bad as it looks in relative terms. Get everyone healthy (a tall order) and we can return to the top - which still would not compare to the D of 2008.

The defensive contrast was striking while watching AZ last night against SF. I thought AZ's defense was on rise especially after last season. But I saw some of the worst defensive play I have seen in quite a while. We are somewhat jaded because we focus on the Steelers. But watch some of these other bad defenses and you really learn that the Steelers are closer to being a great defense than they are to being a really bad defense.

The defensive contrast was striking while watching AZ last night against SF. I thought AZ's defense was on rise especially after last season. But I saw some of the worst defensive play I have seen in quite a while. We are somewhat jaded because we focus on the Steelers. But watch some of these other bad defenses and you really learn that the Steelers are closer to being a great defense than they are to being a really bad defense.

As Steelers fans it is in our DNA to expect nothing but the best defense in the league. That is why our pathetic sacks and INT totals are so hard to tolerate.

Playing Fantasy Football does not qualify you to be the in the front office or on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are professionals and you are not!

If this D could get turnovers and give the offense a shorter field the Steelers could be unstoppable. As of now they are once again last in the league in forced turnovers. And only +1 in turnover differential. How do the Bears do it?